MGLE01: ISRAELI FIRE KILLS LEBANESE TEENAGER NEAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000323

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2016
TAGS: IS KPKO LE MOPS PTER UN
SUBJECT: MGLE01: ISRAELI FIRE KILLS LEBANESE TEENAGER NEAR
BLUE LINE

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman. Reason: Section 1.4 (d).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) According to UNIFIL Senior Adviser Milos Strugar,
UNIFIL's initial assessment is that the Lebanese teenager
shot by Israeli forces near the Blue Line on February 1 was
killed in Lebanese territory and probably was not a Hizballah
fighter. UNIFIL peacekeepers found the body 44 meters north
of the Blue Line and said the scene suggested he was shot and
fell at that spot. Strugar added that Israeli liaison to
UNIFIL did not deny the teenager was shot while inside
Lebanon, but claimed he had first crossed the Blue Line into
Israeli-controlled territory and fired the first shot. The
Lebanese reaction has been strong, with Prime Minister Fouad
Siniora condemning the incident and Hizballah Secretary
General Hassan Nasrallah threatening retaliation. In the
opinion of former UNIFIL spokesman Timur Goksel, the most
likely scenario was that the Lebanese shepherd inadvertently
crossed over the poorly marked demarcation line and was shot
by "panicky" Israeli soldiers. He did think it likely the
shepherd was a Hizballah fighter. Hizballah's reaction came
on the afternoon of February 3 in the form of mortar
shelling, prompting Israeli counter-fire. After two hours, a
ceasefire was brokered that seems (as of this writing) to be
holding. End summary.

UNIFIL: DEAD TEENAGER PROBABLY
KILLED IN LEBANON
--------------


2. (C) On February 3, UNIFIL Senior Advisor Milos Strugar
briefed econoff on the shooting of a Lebanese teenager near
the Blue Line on February 1. Strugar said the individual,
described in Lebanese press as a shepherd named Ibrahim
Rahil, aged either 15 or 17, was recovered by UNIFIL
peacekeepers on February 2 and turned over to Lebanese
authorities. The UNIFIL peacekeepers found Rahil's body on
the Lebanese side of the border, some 44 meters north of the
line (UTM: 748,688/685928). UNIFIL is still working on a
preliminary report, but its initial analysis is that Rahil
was shot while on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line and is
based on evidence at the site. First, the body had several
bullet wounds, including one in the head, making it less
likely that he was shot in Israeli-controlled territory and
then made his way back to Lebanon before dying. Second, the
way that the rocks and dirt were disturbed indicated he had
fallen on that spot. Also, Rahil's shotgun (a rusty,
single-barrel model) was found lying next to him. Third, a
goat shot dead was found next to the body, suggesting it too
had been caught in rifle fire. Strugar added the age of
Rahil, in addition to the poor condition of his shotgun and
dead goat nearby, suggest he was in fact a shepherd.
According to Strugar, UNIFIL could not determine whether the
shotgun had been fired.


3. (C) Strugar said that Israeli liaison did not challenge
UNIFIL's preliminary analysis that Rahil was shot inside
Lebanese territory. Israeli liaison confirmed that Israeli
forces had fired on the teenager, but only after he had
crossed the line into Israeli-occupied territory in the area
of Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba Hills. Israeli liaison did
not deny that IDF had shot the individual after he had
crossed back into Lebanon, but claimed he had fired first.
Strugar said UNIFIL will be investigating the area on the
Israeli side of the line on February 3. Strugar stressed
that UNIFIL is working closely with both the Lebanese and
Israeli forces to maintain calm, but indicated the Blue Line
remains tense.

LEBANESE REACT STRONGLY
--------------


4. (SBU) The Lebanese reacted with outrage to the incident.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora raised the issue in Parliament
on February 2, calling the incident "a blatant assault
against Lebanon's sovereignty" and asserted that the victim
was shot on Lebanese territory. Foreign Minister Fawzi
Salloukh summoned the P-5 ambassadors to the ministry on the
morning of February 3 to discuss the incident (see septel).
Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah issued a
bellicose statement earlier, threatening, "if this civilian
had been killed, then the resistance would punish the killers
without hesitation or any discussion." Nasrallah had vowed
retaliation even before the body was found, when the
individual was presumed to be detained by Israeli forces.

BEIRUT 00000323 002 OF 002


The victim's funeral in the Lebanese village in Shebaa was
tense, with villagers calling for revenge. Representatives
of Hizballah, Amal and the Mufti of Marjayoun attended the
funeral. The young man's father urged Hizballah to avenge
his son's death and accused UNIFIL of negligence. (Comment:
Given that the victim was from the Sunni village of Shebaa
and the Sunni Mufti of Marjayoun attended the funeral,
indications are that he was a Sunni Muslim. End comment.)


5. (C) On February 3, former UNIFIL spokesman Timur Goksel
shared his analysis of the incident with econoff. Goksel
said he doubted the victim was a Hizballah fighter because he
was too young and he carried a weapon ill-suited for combat.
Goksel said he believed the young man was either alone or
with another teenager. Goksel explained that, in his
experience, Hizballah almost always sent its fighters in
groups for operations and did not use soldiers of that age.
He speculated that the more plausible scenario was that the
young man was indeed a shepherd who had inadvertently crossed
the line, which is poorly marked in that area, known as
Bastra Farm. Goksel blamed "panicky" Israeli conscripts for
opening fire prematurely, an event he says occurred
periodically when he was working for UNIFIL. He commented
this incident just played into the hands of Hizballah and
gives it an excuse to retaliate with an attack along the
line.

HIZBALLAH REACTS WITH MORTAR SHELLS
--------------


6. (C) On February 3 at approximately 1530 hrs. local,
Hizballah launched mortar shells at Israeli positions in the
Shebaa Farms. Strugar briefed econoff on the situation,
saying that despite press reports of Hizballah launching
rockets at the Shebaa Farms, UNIFIL peacekeepers observed
only mortar shelling coming from the Lebanese side. UNIFIL
observed Israeli forces returning fire with tank and
artillery rounds. Israel also launched several airstrikes in
the area of Kfar Shouba. Israeli liaison issued an "activity
warning" to UNIFIL covering the whole Blue Line. As of 1715
hrs. local, Strugar reported to econoff that he had received
assurances from both the Lebanese and Israeli sides that they
would cease firing. Strugar suspected that an Israeli
solider was wounded in the fighting, but Israeli liaison
would not confirm this. For the previous two hours, the
ceasefire has held.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) The area of the incident near "Bastra Farm" is
located in the area that Lebanese refer to as the Kfar Shouba
Hills. The location of the incident may be coincidence, but
the recent adoption of the phrase "Shebaa Farms and Kfar
Shouba Hills" by both the GOL and Hizballah is of note. End
comment.
FELTMAN